Lands Produce

Bless otherwise stated, quotations are ustralian currency. Aust. £ equals Dximately 16/- Stg.. NZ, or W. »a: 18/- Fiji; 20/- Tonga, Solomons PHC areas; 196 Pac. Frs.; 5U52.25.)

Copra

PUA-NEW GUINEA;—AII production elivered to Copra Marketing Board, •oiled by six members, including three ;ers’ representatives; and the Board ts distribution and sales, and makes lents to the producers. Production mainly to (a) Unilever, in UK, (b) ralia for local consumption, (c) ling-mill in Rabaul, and (d) Japan ilus as available). Prices generally with ruling rate in Philippines, with iums for hot-air dried.

MG Board's Tentative Purchase 's for copra delivered main ports are; Air Dried, £54/10/- per ton; FMS. per ton; Smoke-Dried, £52 per jl:— No Government control—pro rs sell where they wish. Bulk of i goes to crushing-mills in Suva.

January 28 prices were HAD 3/-/-, fm £FSO/10/- (exclusive of a delivery bonus of £FI per ton).

EST E R N SAMOA: —Official Copra d takes all production, sells same makes payments to producers. It mainly to Abels Ltd., NZ crushers, to Unilever, UK. Local price re ly has been £56/12/6 Samoan, first e. )NGA:—Sales are under Government rol. Part of production goes to pe, under arrangement with Unilever rolled by Philippines prices, and part 0 open market. »LOMON IS.; —All production marketed ugh official BSI Copra Board, at >s based on Philippines rates. Output to Unilever, UK; to Australian tiers; and the balance on to the open ret. Local price recently has been: ;rade, £5O/-/-; 2nd grade; £4B/10/-; grade, £46/-/- per ton, f.0.b., BSIP ; (Honiara, Yandina and Gizo).

ÜBERT AND ELLlCE;—Production ceted in Europe through official Copra d, at prices based on Philippines s less freight, etc. The Government idy to producers is: £7/15/5 per ton Ist grade, and £3/14/7 for 2nd grade. & E Copra Board’s 1961 accounts, published, show that production was tons down on 1960, at 7,954 tons. 1 received by the Board was £l2/2/ton down also, and at a figure of /10/- per ton it meant the Board to pay £2/4/5 per ton from its rves to maintain the previous price iroducers. 2W HEBRIDES:—On Jan. 17. the a price was approximately £37/10/- D 0 Pac. francs) per ton delivered /Santo. French price then was 84 p y francs per metric ton, c.i.f., seilles.

DOK IS.; Copra goes to Abels, Ltd., Auckland, who operate the only NZ a crushing mill. Price paid is average ion price for previous three months, handling charges. Price for first rter of 1963 was £NZS2/8/7 Ist le. £NZSI/3/7 standard grade—both Rarotonga.

Other Produce

COCOA: —Islands prices are usually based on the rates for Ghana cocoa which on Jan. 25 was £ Stg.l9o/-/- per ton, c.i.f., Sydney. Unofficial reports state that the rise is due to two factors—(a) a smaller Ghana crop, and (b) the operations of a UK syndicate buying speculatively.

P.-N.G.: Sydney buyers on Jan 25 re ported: Quote No. 1: In store, Rabaul, export quality £2OO per ton, or on wharf Sydney, according to quality: £lBO-£190; quote No. 2: Best quality, on wharf Syd., Melb., £210; in store, N.G. ports, £lBO to £lB5.

W. SAMOA; —Nominal prices quoted in Sydney in mid-Jan. were: Grade 1, £ 5tg.245; grade 2, £Stg.22s, f.0.b., Apia.

COFFEE. —P.-N.G.: Jan. 25, good quality A grade, per lb, 4/- to 4/2; B grade, 3/9 to 4/-; C grade, 2/9 to 3/4, c.i.f., Sydney.

Overseas c.i.f. coffee prices were re ported on Jan. 25 as: Kenya A, f.a.q., £Stg.36s, B Stg.3so, C £Stg.3ls; U/G £ Stg.2Bo; Tanganyika AA £Stg.34o, A £ 5tg.325, B £ Stg.3lo; Uganda Robusta £Stg.l76.

PEANUTS: P.-N.G.: Sydney agents quoted Jan. 25:—F.0.b., Lae; Kernels— White Spanish, 1/4 lb; Red Spanish, 1/2; Virginia Bunch, 1/7, in shell 1/1.

RUBBER: —P.-N.G. price is based on Singapore rate, which on Jan. 24 was: No. 1, RSS, Spot, 79% Straits cents per lb (27.86 d Aust.).

VANILLA BEANS: Victor Karp Tulk & Co., Sydney, reported Jan. 23; White and yellow label processed, standard packs, 37/-, green label 36/-, c.i.f., Sydney.

RICE (Aust.): Prices until April 30, 1963 —P.-N.G.: Dry brown and dressed, 112 lb bags, 5 tons and over, £59/-/- per ton, f.0.w.; under 5 tons £59/10/-. Vitamised and enriched white, 112 lb bags, 5 tons and over, £65/15'f.0.w., under 5 tons, £66/5/-. Other Pac. Islands; Dry, white or brown, etc., £67/10/- (any quantity), f.0.w., Sydney or Melbourne.

PEARL SHELL.—Quotations for Aus tralian M.O.P. Shell in mid-Jan. by Sydney independent shell agents were: Sound £825, D £550, E £3OO, EE

£l9O (in store Sydney). Cook Islands: Penrhyn £NZSOO (approx.), f.0.b., Raro tonga.

TROCHUS.—Sydney buyers in mid-Jan. indicated the following quotations to Islands producers: No. I.—Papua— nominally £llO per ton, f.0.b., Papuan ports; N.G.— £9O, c.i.f., Sydney; 8.5.1. £ll2, f.0.b., Honiara. No. 2.—Papua— £loo per ton; N.G., 8.5.1. £9O per ton.

GREEN SNAIL SHELL. —Sydney buyers quoted on Jan. 25: No. 1: £3OO-£320 per ton, f.0.b., Islands port. No. 2: £2BO (best quality), on wharf, Sydney; or £290, f.0.b., Islands port.

Crocodile Skins.—On Jan. 24

Sydney buyers quoted for 12 in. and over, first grade quality as follows: P.-N.G. — 18/- per in., f.o.b. P-NG ports, small scale (salt water); large scale (fresh water) 12/- per in. 8.5.1.—18/- per in. (small scale) del. Sydney.

PAPUAN GUM: £B2/15/- f.o.b. Islands port.

BECHE-DE-MER: Chang Sing Loong Co., Suva, quote F 2- (4 in. to 7 in.) to P3/- (9 in. to 11 in.) lb for well processed commercial varieties.

SHARK FINS: Suva mechants offer F4/6 per lb for well-dried fins of com mercial quality.

London and US Quotations

Copra: LONDON, Jan. 24, Philippines, in bulk $165 US per long ton, c.i.f., UK/Nth. European ports. Malayan, FMS, delivered weights, c.i.f. UK/Nth.

European ports—not quoted on London market since late Dec. when price was £Stg.62/10/- per long ton. NEW YORK: Jan. 24, Philippines, $182.50 US per short ton, c.i.f., Pacific Coast ports. CEYLON: 955 Rupees per ton c.i.f.

Coconut Oil: LONDON, Jan. 24, Ceylon, 1% in bulk, £Stg.99/-/- per ton, c.i.f., UK/North European ports. Straits, 3%, £Stg.94/-/-, c.i.f.

Rubber: LONDON, Jan. 24, c.i.f., RSS No. 1 spot, 23%d Stg. lb, Apr. shipment 23-13/16d Stg. lb, Feb. shipment 23%d Stg. lb. (£1 Australian is equal to about 2.2 US Dollars or 10% Rupees).